And Then I Met The Cullens
by Deadly Poppy
Summary: I wracked my brain, trying to remember why I was again. Oh yeah, my best friend got me arrested, and no one in Forks could let that go. My parents kicked me out. So here there I was. In Seattle. Jobless, broke, and alone. And then I met the Cullens.
1. One Morning in Starbucks

**I know I should be working on various other stories, but I want to write an all-human fanfic for Twilight, so here it is. Read it and cower before its glory!!!**

**Sorry, was I having a schizophrenic moment…? Yes? Oh well, just read the story.**

**I don't own Twilight. I do, however, like to play around with the characters and pretend that they're mine.**

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_THUMP!_

I groan, grabbing the broom. With as much force as I can muster, I bang on the ceiling with it.

_THUMP! THUMP! THUMP!_

A bit of the ceiling crumbles. I'm really starting to hate the assholes who are staying above me.

I try to remember why I'm here again. Ah, yes, I'm here because my so-called "best friend" got me arrested. And being such a small town, it appears that people just can't forgive and forget stuff like that in Forks. So I left the little (stress the _little_) apartment we shared, and came here.

What's on the agenda for today? Oh yes, job hunting. Again. And apartment hunting apparently, because this little hotel is definitely the crappiest place I can imagine living.

_THUMP!_

And that's my signal to leave for the day. I grab my keys and purse and head out the door.

First I walk down to the gas station to buy a paper. I know it's wishful thinking that the job listings will be much different from yesterday, but I try.

"Hello, Miss Swan," the man behind the counter greets me.

"Hey Jenks," I reply. Wow, that's depressing. Looking for a job long enough for the man I buy papers from recognizes me.

After that I walk to Starbucks. While it's not exactly the best way to save money, if I buy a large coffee I have enough caffeine for the day and a quiet place to sit while I look through the paper.

I sit down and have just begun looking through the paper when I hear, "_Rejected!?"_

I turn around to see a short woman with spiky black hair freaking out at the counter. "No, no, no, sir, I don't think you understand. My card cannot be rejected!"

She looked like she was going to cry, so I decided I had to do something.

Ii walk up behind the woman and put a ten dollar bill on the counter. "Everything all right?" I ask her.

"Y-you don't have to do that," she replies, sniffing.

"It's no problem," I lie. At this point, even ten dollars is a problem, but she seemed so upset.

"Thank you," she says, getting her coffee. "I'm Alice. Alice Brandon."

"Bella Swan," I reply, shaking her outstretched hand.

I sit back down and she sits next to me. "I really appreciate that," she said. "It's not so much the coffee, but I freaked out at the idea of not being able to use my card." She peered over my shoulder to look at the paper.

"You looking for an apartment?" she asked. I nodded. She grinned. "That's great!"

I must have looked confused, because she explained. "I need a roommate! I have a two bedroom apartment. It had two bathrooms, a nice kitchen. My previous roommate moved out when she broke up with my brother, and I can't afford rent. You could be my roommate!"

I gaped at her. "I-I don't know what to say…"

"Say yes," she pleaded. "I really need a roommate. You've just seen how broke I am. I'm still trying to find a job, and I-"

"Sure," I said.

"Yay!" she cried happily. "You're my new roommate!" And with that she grabbed my hand and led me out of the restaurant.

"The apartment's right over here," she said, leading me to a large apartment complex just down the street.

I could already tell I was going to like her. She was nice and appeared to be very opinionated, but I didn't think she was bossy or rude.

"Ta-da!" she yelled, opening to door to an apartment. I loved it. The living room had light orange walls with a painting of a large multicolored flower on one wall and a red couch sitting opposite a medium sized TV.

"I love it!" I cried. "This is so great! Now I just have to-" but I was cut off by a man coming in through the front door. My first thought was that he should be a movie star. My second was that he was a stranger in our apartment.

"Jazzy!" Alice cried happily, throwing herself at him. "Perfect timing. This is Bella, my new roommate!"

"Pleasure to meet you," he said, smiling. From that one sentence I could tell he probably didn't talk much. I wondered briefly if that was why he and Alice went so well together. She could talk enough for two people.

"Nice to meet you too," I replied.

"Oh yeah," Alice giggled. "Bella, this is my boyfriend, Jasper." She gasped. "Oh, will it bother you that he has a key?"

"Not at all," I said. "I trust you."

Alice grinned. "Yay! Oh, this is all so-Oh crap, I'm supposed to be job hunting, aren't I?"

Jasper nodded and I laughed. "So am I," I admitted.

"Great!" she squealed. "We can do it together!"

She threw an arm over my shoulder. Jasper laughed as Alice led me out of the apartment, completely forgetting about him.

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**Ok, here it is. Questions, comment, concerns? Anything you have to say about the story is appreciated!**

**Reviews=Love! **


	2. A Story To Tell

"That didn't go so well," Alice said as we walked dejectedly back to our apartment.

"Nope," I reply, flopping onto the couch.

"I'll make popcorn," she says sadly. When she comes back three minutes later, all despair seems to have left her. "Now, since we are roommates, we get to swap stories. You first. Why did you leave Forks?"

She sat down next to me, holding the bowl of popcorn on her lap.

I groaned. "It's sort of an embarrassing story," I said warily. She grinned wider.

"That makes it even better!" she exclaimed. "Come on, spill. Then I'll tell you something."

I Sighed. "All right," I agree. "Well, I was living with my best friend Angela. She's really amazing. I've known her since kindergarten. Anyway, she was going out with this guy Erik. It got pretty serious. Then one day, she starts screaming and shouting profanities from the bathroom. I ran to see what was wrong, and there's a positive pregnancy test laying on the sink."

Alice gasped, obviously having gotten very into my story.

"Yeah. So then I try and calm her down, and while I'm doing that, the door opens, and Erik walks in. now, Angela and I both knew this wasn't exactly going to be good news to him. She got _super_ pissed. She yelled something about him forgetting the protection. I don't know. Anyway, she goes into my room. And, well, she had decided that since we were two single young women living together, we should be prepared, and so she had a gun in her dresser…"

Alice screeched. "She didn't kill him!" I explained quickly. "But she shot him in the leg. A neighbor heard, and while I was trying to calm down a hysterical Angela, and help Erik's leg, the police came. Erik went to the hospital, and Angela and I were taken to the police station."

"By the time everything was sorted out, Erik was long out of town and Angela had calmed down. Then things got weird for a while. That was when I first thought about moving. Everyone looked at me weird. I mean, I had been arrested for being an accomplice in what the people of Forks deemed an 'attempted murder'. But I couldn't leave Angela like that."

Alice nodded vigorously, encouraging me to continue. "But then, as she got more and more pregnant, she started getting really attached to this guy Ben. He didn't mind that she was pregnant with some other guy's kid. Anyway, long story short, she had the baby, an adorable little girl named Lucille Marie, and the two of them moved in with Ben. That was when I decided to leave."

Alice nodded. "Wow. That's pretty dramatic. I mean, I've heard of dads shooting their pregnant daughter's boyfriend, but the never the girl shooting her own boyfriend!"

I nodded, grinning. "Well, Angela's prone to freaking out. But Erik turned out to be an asshole who had it coming. Now, it's your turn. You have to tell me something about you."

"Um, okay, let me think…" she looked thoughtful for a moment. "It has to be as good as yours…Huh. I guess I don't really have anything that big. Ok, I'll just tell you about my roommate before you. Her name was Tanya."

"So I had just left college, and I was looking for a roommate. Tanya had this place, minus all the fabulous decorating, and so I moved in with her. We sort of became friends, but we didn't really click like you and I. anyway, my brother, Edward came over one time, and she started acting all kind of slutty. The idiot fell for it!"

I groaned. I already don't like the sound of Edward or Tanya. "So they go out right, and after their _very first date_, I can't sleep because of what's going on in her bedroom. I won't give you any horrible details, but I will say that I had to go over to Jasper's apartment just to get some sleep."

I shudder. "Anyway, so they go out, right. And _thank god _they usually go over to his place. Then, after they've been dating about two months, Tanya starts talking about how she's engaged to my brother. I called to…er…congratulate him, and he freaked! He didn't know what the hell I was talking about!"

I laughed so hard I choked on a piece of popcorn. "Yeah! Then he comes over to talk to her, and he tells her he's not ready to get married. So she tells him she's pregnant! Of course, I intervene right there, because I would know if she was pregnant. She would have told me about it, for one, plus I am really good at noticing, even when someone first finds out for themselves."

I'm laughing really hard at this point. "So I tell him she's definitely_ not _pregnant, and she freaks out and starts _begging_ him to marry her! So then he tells her he wants nothing to do with her, and leaves. After that, she was gone within six hours."

After she finished, Alice and I burst into hysterical laughter. It takes a good ten minutes before we can breathe properly.

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**Like it? I hope you did! Anyway, I think Bella and Alice will have a few more of these sharing talks, because it's the easiest way for me to let you know about their past. And also, Edward does come in soon, for those of you who are wondering!**

**Psssst! You there! Yeah, you, with the face! Don't look now, but right down there, there's a button that says review-I TOLD YOU NOT TO LOOK! Ugh. Now you have to click it!**


	3. Saving Alice

"Bella!" Alice screeched from her room. For someone so small she had a loud voice.

"Yeah?" I asked, walking in to see her sitting on her bed, staring wide-eyed at a hot pink laptop.

"Clothes!" she screeched. "Designer-fashion-me-assistant-famous-clothes!"

"Alice," I scolded. "English please."

She grinned. "There's this designer in town who wants me to be his assistant!" she yelled.

"Oh my god!" I cried. "That's what you've been looking for!"

"Yeah!" she squealed. "isn't it amazing!"

"So amazing!" I agreed. "When do you meet him?"

"Today!" she exclaimed. "I have to go in half an hour! I have to get ready!"

I laughed as she ran from the room and emerged fifteen minutes later, hair washed and styled, and fully dressed. I will never understand how that girl can get ready so fast.

"So, where are you meeting him?" I questioned.

"At his studio," she said happily. "It's on Presa Street."

Something about that name sounded familiar, but I couldn't quite place it. Something bad. I shook my head, assuring myself I was overreacting.

"I'll see you later Bella!" she called, already halfway out the door.

I laughed and waved to her, although she was already gone. But as I sat down to watch TV, a little voice in my head kept telling me I forgot something. Something important.

I had been watching The Princess Bride for about fifteen minutes when the phone rang.

"Hello?" I answered, not bothering to look at the caller ID.

"Bella? It's Jasper."

"Oh, hey Jasper," I said. "Alice isn't here right now, she has a job…interview…" That's when it hit me. Presa Street. Studio. How could I have been so stupid!?

"Oh my god!" I screeched.

"Bella?" Jasper asked, alarmed. "Bella what's wrong?"

"Jasper!" I cried. "Jasper, call the cops! We have to do something."

"Bella, what's going on?" he asked, panicked.

"Alice, she left, saying she had a job interview with a designer who wanted her to be his assistant. She said it was on Presa Street, and I didn't remember the news until just now!"

He was silent for a moment. "Bella, stay there," he said. "I'll call the police. It'll be okay."

I nodded, then, remembering he couldn't see me, said, "Yeah, alright."

Then he hung up.

Stay here? Hell no! I grabbed my jacket and what little money I could spare for cab fare and headed out the door.

"You sure this is the right place?" the cab driver asked skeptically. "This is a pretty nasty part of town," he warned me, eyeing the crumbling, abandoned buildings.

I nodded. "I'll be alright," I said, although I was unsure if I was more trying to reassure myself or him.

He nodded and drove away as I looked around and headed inside. I had checked Alice's computer (she had left her e-mail open) and found the address she had been given.

Looking at the building, I wanted very much to think that Alice wouldn't have gone in, but as much as I hated to think it, Alice was pretty much blinded by her love for fashion.

I took a deep breath and opened the door, praying that Jasper would get here soon with the police.

"Well Miss Cullen," a voice said. **(AN: I know it said Brandon in Chapter 1, but I changed it.) **"Your resume looks very nice. If you would just step into my office for a moment…" I heard a door close, and I panicked, unsure of what to do.

This building was far too awful for the guy to be legitimate, but what could I do? I had to do something though!

Suddenly, Alice made up y mind for me. "Get away from me!" she screeched, and I heard a thump from inside the room I'd heard them disappear into. My legs took off without any thought, and I threw open the door, running to Alice's side. It appeared that he'd thrown her towards the wall opposite the door, because that's where she was, crying, her leg at an odd angle, and the man was facing away from me. He was huge and muscular with long blonde hair. **(AN: Yes, it's James, SORRY DAYNA! She's my friend who likes James, but I had to make him the bad guy.)**

Without thought, I grabbed the pepper spray in my pocket. I lunged at the man, hitting him hard in the back of the head. He turned around, and I sprayed him in the eyes. He cried out, but grabbed my arm. I threw the pepper spray at him with as much force as I could. I watched Alice in horror, realizing her leg was probably broken, and I was alone in fighting this guy who could probably snap me in half.

I underestimated Alice, of course, and she used her good leg to drag herself to the man's desk, while he was occupied trying to get me off him. She grabbed the first thing her hand touched (which happened to be his laptop) and threw it hard at his head. He cried out and turned to face her, and I threw myself at his back, knocking him over.

So that's where we grabbed him and then Jasper got there with the police and he was arrested, right?

Nope!

That was where he turned and grabbed my wrist and with one swift motion, sent me and Alice flying to the floor.

And that was where Jasper and about ten cops barged in and grabbed the man. Not exactly bad timing, of course, but it would have been nice if Alice and I had been able to handle him alone.

As soon as James was in cuffs in the back of a police car, Alice had been chastened for believing random guys on the internet, and I had been chastened for trying to save her alone (but also thanked by a blubbering, crying Alice), and Alice had been taken to and released from the hospital for her leg, all of which amounted to about seven hours, we were home.

Of course, the night didn't end there. Probably thanks to Jasper, by the time we got home, all of Alice's family knew what had happened and demanded she go to dinner the next night at her parents' house.

"Come with me," she begged me, as we were sitting in the couch, finishing the movie I had attempted to watch over eight hours ago.

"Are you sure?" I asked. "I mean, it sounds like a family thing, and-"

She interrupted me. "My brother will be there," she said, by way of explanation. I nodded. I was learning quickly that Alice did not like her brother Edward. Although she could just as easily have meant Emmett, somehow I doubted it, as she loved her eldest brother dearly.

So that was how it was decided that I would have dinner with the Cullens.


End file.
